Link

"Your only as strong as your weakest link." Mary Ellen paused for emphasis and looked out over her audience. "My mother said this to me quite frequently. She would say it over my shoulder while I did my homework, from the deck when I played sports, over e-mail if I wrote her a story. I hated it. It made me cringe." Mary Ellen stopped, a rye smile laying gently on her face. "I vividly remember rolling my eyes and offering an intelligent rebuttal like, whatever." A small ripple of laughter filled the room.

"But I stand here as a successful person because of this annoyance. Because of her. She pushed me, as she probably pushed many of you, to make sure I was ready for life. As you pay your respects and mourn your loss, think of today as the weak length. Move on knowing you are stronger than you were today. Apply her ideology to your life. It's how she would want each of you to live your life. Being strong and remembering her as a strong person who acknowledged her weaknesses and strengthened them."

Mary Ellen stepped from the small podium and dabbed her eyes. It took her mother's passing for her to realize just how true that statement was. The weakest link in their relationship had been her own unwillingness to speak to her mother the last couple of years. Had she tried to fix that link, she would have known her mother was dying.

*** One Minute Writer ***